Woman dies; nurse refused to do CPR

A nurse’s refusal to give CPR to a dying 87-year-old woman at a California independent-living home despite desperate pleas from a 911 dispatcher has prompted outrage and spawned a criminal investigation.

The harrowing seven-minute, 16-second call also raised concerns that policies at senior living facilities could prevent staff from intervening in medical emergencies. It prompted calls for legislation Monday to prevent a repeat of what happened last Tuesday at the Glenwood Gardens in Bakersfield.

Loraine Bayless collapsed in the dining room of the retirement home that offers many levels of care. She lived in the independent-living building, which state officials said is like a senior apartment complex and doesn’t operate under licensing oversight.

“This is a wake-up call,” said Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, chair of the California Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care. “I’m sorry it took a tragedy like this to bring it to our attention.”

Yamada cautioned that though it’s not yet known whether intervention would have saved the woman’s life, “we want to investigate because it has caused a lot of concern and alarm.”

Independent-living facilities “should not have a policy that says you can stand there and watch somebody die,” said Pat McGinnis, founder of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, a consumer-advocacy group. “How a nurse can do that is beyond comprehension.”

In all her years of advocating for the elderly, McGinnis said: “This was so horrifying. I’ve never seen this happen before.”

State officials did not know Monday whether the woman who talked to the 911 dispatcher actually was a nurse, or just identified herself as one during the call. She said one of the home’s policies prevented her from doing CPR, according to an audio recording of the call.